


The Gladiator

by magicianparrish



Series: Halloween PJO Challenge [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gladiator AU, and gore and death, there is a lot of blood mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-04-27 23:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5068411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianparrish/pseuds/magicianparrish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reyna is a gladiator for Rome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gladiator

**Author's Note:**

> Today is day two! Reyna is up. 
> 
> Context: 66 AD in Ancient Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero. 
> 
> Terms:   
> Gladiatrix- female gladiator (yes they were real) 
> 
> Emperor Nero- 5th emperor of Rome, known for setting Rome on fire, was a crazy son of a bitch

**66 AD, Roman Empire**

Reyna inhaled the musty air. With her eyes closed and her right hand tightly gripping the spear, she mentally prepared herself. She has trained her entire life for this moment. Picked out from a young age, and raised to be a gladiatrix. There were few who were deemed worthy enough for a status that equals a male gladiator. And now all her training has led to this event; her debut in the Colosseum for all of Rome to see.

Her father was a well known warrior in his tribe over in Iberia. The Romans had taken notice of him immediately and used him to help them. All the fathers of the Ramírez tribe had been great leaders for Rome. They had fought in the Punic Wars for Rome against Hannibal and Carthage. Her bloodline was extremely loyal to Rome.

She opened up her eyes and looked around her. She was in a holding cell preparing herself for the fight. She was standing on hay and the air was hot and humid. The only light in the area was the faint glow of her breastplate and Imperial gold spear tip. Reyna could feel the slight tremble of the people in the stands chanting for blood and death. It didn’t make her doubt her skill though. Reyna was the best gladiatrix Rome had, and she was willing to prove it.

She walked over to one of the columns and laid her spear against it. Reyna cracked all her knuckles before taking her hair out of it’s bun. Her nimble fingers plaited her hair down her back and she tied it off with a piece of black string.

When she was finished she heard someone clear their throat. She turned around and faced an Imperial guard. His face was stoic, but she knew what he was here for. Reyna nodded and picked up her spear and straightened her back and armor before walking up to him. All he did was grunt making Reyna roll her eyes behind his back and followed him. As they made it towards the tunnel she was going to emerge from, the cheering got louder. Torches lit the dim tunnel and cast an eerie glow.

The guard pushed her forward which earned him a piercing glare from her. Reyna stuck her chin up and walked out into the arena. When she emerged the roar of the crowd washed over her eardrums, nearly making her deaf. But she didn’t let any form of emotion on her face. She was to remain stoic. Her opponent had entered from the other end of the arena.

Reyna knew her well. Her name was Claudia and she was her arch rival in the cohorts and the academy. Her dark blonde hair was tied up in a high and tight ponytail. Her eyes were an ice blue, making it hard to keep eye contact with her for longer than a minute. She was dressed in the same attire as Reyna: a golden breastplate, leather skirt that went to their mid thighs and lace up sandals. In her left hand was a gladius, her weapon of choice.

Claudia charged beginning the battle between the two gladiatrices. The crowd went wild but Reyna learned to tune them out quickly. The blonde came swinging and Reyna turned to the side. She would be on the defensive until she could figure out the chink in Claudia’s armor. She kept slashing at Reyna who would block with her spear and occasionally make a jab. The fierceness in the ice blue eyes were enough to make a person falter. But Reyna knew that she had the same look in her eyes as well. She let out a growl and finally decided to go onto the offensive.

Claudia was clearly taken off guard at the change of positions, but took it in stride anyway. She was always Reyna’s closest and most competitive competitor. In practice fights, theirs would last longer than any others. Both were fierce and determined to win no matter what the cost. And now they both knew only one of them would be coming out alive from the arena in the next few minutes. That was the only downside to this life. From the very beginning you are destined to die in a fight to the death for entertainment. But if you fight strongly enough, and you die, people will still remember your name. And that’s what Reyna wanted to achieve. If she died today, she still wanted people to remember her.

In her anger she managed to stab Claudia in the side with her spear. It wasn’t a fatal blow like Reyna intended it to be, but it was still lethal enough. She yanked the spear out of Claudia with a rip of flesh and blood caked onto the spear tip. The dirty blonde let out a guttural yell of pain and her right hand flew to her side to try and stop the blood. She looked up, her face red with rage making her blue eyes stand out even more.

“I’m going to kill you!” she screamed out.

“Not if I do it first,” Reyna growled back.

The crowd was back into the fight again. For a while the noise had dulled down due to the lack of blood...and well, death between the two. Now blood from Claudia’s wound was dripping all over the sand they were standing and fighting on. A sloppy, but lucky move, Claudia slashed as hard as she could with her gladius, cutting Reyna’s bottom arm right off. There was a collective gasp in the crowd as Reyna slowly watched her arm fall the floor motionless with the spear in her limp hand. She had so much adrenaline pumping through, she didn’t even register the pain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Claudia wipe the sweat from her forehead with her bloody hand, smearing red over her face. She had a big smirk on her face showing she now had an advantage over Reyna.

When the initial shock came over Reyna, she dropped to her knees and let out a gut wrenching scream of pain. It felt like her entire body was in fire and she was drowning in the River Phlegethon. But she refused to die without a last ditch effort to fight back. With her other arm she pried her dead fingers off the spear and picked it up. Reyna wasn’t nearly as strong with her other hand, but she’d have to try.

Blood was still gushing from Claudia’s stab wound, but she seemed to have forgotten it after she cut Reyna’s spear arm clean off. Reyna was now fighting for her life, and Claudia seemed to basking in her glory. Reyna continued to fight even if her work was far more sloppy that she ever wanted it to be. The two of them exchanged blows and parries towards each other, not hitting one another for a few minutes. Reyna seemed to be gaining ground and confidence.

But it was all for nothing. Claudia was still in better condition than Reyna was. She took advantage that Reyna was fighting with her weak arm and her moves were getting worse as she lost more blood from her arm. Sand was kicking up into her eyes from the feet shuffling around the arena. It was almost like Claudia was doing it on purpose. Reyna narrowed her eyes at her opponent and growled. The blonde let out a bark of laughter and continued to try and blind Reyna with the sand.

At least she’s a worthy opponent, Reyna grudgingly admitted.

Suddenly a force kicked her in the chest successfully knocking the wind out of Reyna making it hard to catch her breath. She was gasping the air trying to regain control of herself. Sand and dirt was flying around her from where she hit the floor blinding her temporarily. A sandaled foot appeared on her chest pushing Reyna down more. She knew it was over then.

Claudia had a manic grin on her face and her gladius pointed at her throat ready to kill her. Reyna looked up behind her from the ground to see Emperor Nero looking down at the two of them with psychotic glee. Claudia was waiting for his approval to finish Reyna off once and for all.

The curly black haired Emperor stood up from his seat and grinned so wide that Reyna could see all his teeth. He jutted his hand forward with his thumb in the air. The crowd started to go wild and Reyna accepted her fate. She turned her head back to the blonde in front of her. Making one last eye contact before the sword cut her clean open through her heart killing her instantly.

Reyna had died a gladiatrix and her wish had come true. Everyone remembered how her arm got severed off but managed to fight on against her opponent. It was one of the bloodiest duels Rome has ever seen, making it well known to all. Reyna was one of the greatest gladiators Rome has seen.         

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Check out lmpadora's pjo challenge where I got the inspiration for. 
> 
> You can find the link on my ff.net which is under the same pen name, firebenderannabeth, or on pjaus on tumblr. 
> 
> Nico is on deck for tomorrow!


End file.
